Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Forgotten Promise (2)
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"What kind of metal is this made from? The tensile stress seems insane."
Park Joo-hee brought the scythe right up to her face, her eyes sparkling wildly in complete contrast to her usual demeanor as she inspected it closely.
She looked almost innocently pure, like a child beholding a treasure from her dreams, fidgeting with excitement.
"Can I touch it?"
"Sure, but be careful around the blade. It's sharper than it looks."
"Whoa, you must've put a lot of work into maintaining it."
"No, I haven't polished it at all. The scythe itself absorbs blood, so it cleans itself automatically and the edge never dulls. I haven't needed to sharpen it yet."
"This is unpolished? Even if it absorbs blood, what about the muscle and fat from slicing monsters? Does it clean that off too?"
Park Joo-hee stroked the scythe as delicately as if it were a work of art, firing off questions nonstop.
After a barrage of questions, she examined the scythe from every angle, touched it all over, and with Kang Sa-hu's permission, even gave it a careful tap with her hammer. Finally satisfied, she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with her arm.
"Wow, this is just... incredible..."
Her excitement hadn't faded; her flushed face and fiery gaze fixed on the scythe betrayed it.
Though she didn't realize it herself, that fire was the passion she'd lost long ago, rekindled by Kang Sa-hu and Kang Ji-ye's recognition.
Kang Sa-hu used his spirit sight and saw her spirit trembling with excitement, so he quietly waited for it to subside.
"Ah, sorry. I got too worked up. I've never seen such a masterpiece before."
"It's fine. That's understandable."
At that moment, Bae Deok-ho, who had been watching quietly from behind, approached Kang Sa-hu.
"By the way, Party Leader. Did you pick up that weapon in the gate?"
He had stayed until the end but hadn't seen Kang Sa-hu acquire it, so Bae Deok-ho asked curiously. Kang Sa-hu glanced at Park Joo-hee, lost in her own thoughts, and answered softly.
"No, I didn't get it from that gate."
"..."
Bae Deok-ho stared at him in disbelief, already impressed twice today by his tact.
But his bewilderment vanished with Kang Sa-hu's follow-up.
"I'll explain later, but for now, just know I got it from meeting the National Intelligence Service's prophet."
"...That time, huh."
Bae Deok-ho nodded gravely, recalling Director Lee Jae-man waiting for them right after clearing the B-rank gate.
He didn't know what Kang Sa-hu thought of the director, but to him, Lee Jae-man was a snake harboring who-knew-how-many eels inside.
He'd prefer to avoid him, but as the head of Korea's secret agency, Kang Sa-hu was bound to cross paths with him again.
'I'll have to help out then.'
Bae Deok-ho thought to himself as he watched Kang Sa-hu exchanging opinions with Park Joo-hee again.
While he was lost in thought, their conversation had veered in an unexpected direction.
"...So."
Kim Ho-myeong, fully engrossed in the discussion, spoke up with a bewildered tone.
"You want to come with us into the gate?"
"I'm an awakener too, so I can enter gates, right? If there are minerals like that inside, I want to use them."
"No, but you're not combat personnel. It's too dangerous..."
As Kim Ho-myeong objected, Park Joo-hee whipped her head around to stare at Kang Sa-hu.
"You're not seriously planning to carry around a masterpiece weapon like that while wearing some ordinary steel armor made from scraps, are you? That would be an insult to me, the one who made your armor!"
"Of course not."
In truth, steel armor that could block a decent attack would suffice, but Kang Sa-hu didn't want to douse the flames of her passion.
Besides, she had a point: wielding a treasure of a weapon while donning makeshift armor was unbalanced.
"Then we'll need to find a gate with minerals."
Gates varied not just by rank but by terrain inside.
Low-rank E or F gates usually featured natural environments like jungles, plains, or fields.
From D-rank onward—ones other hunters avoided supporting due to danger—resource-rich terrains like ore veins appeared. Kang Sa-hu had learned this through countless solo gate hunts.
"Party Leader, you're really taking her?"
Bae Deok-ho asked worriedly as Kang Sa-hu scrolled through the gate hunting app for a suitable one.
"Yes. Meister Park Joo-hee isn't wrong."
"Still, isn't it a bit risky...?"
As Bae Deok-ho voiced his unease, Lee Yu-rim shook her head.
"The Party Leader's going too. What's there to worry about?"
"...Well, yeah, true."
Bae Deok-ho had initially wanted to tease Lee Yu-rim for her blind faith in Kang Sa-hu, but he naturally agreed at the reminder.
They weren't heading to a B-rank gate, after all—no need for excessive worry.
"Found one. A D-rank gate with minerals."
After checking not just the app but even the gates the National Intelligence Service had promised him personally, Kang Sa-hu located a match.
"But, Meister, don't you need permission to leave?"
Bae Deok-ho asked, mindful of her contract with the agency, but Park Joo-hee snorted dismissively.
"No one's stopping me from going out for personal reasons. If they try, I'll just go on strike!"
"..."
Bae Deok-ho shut his mouth at her bold response.
She was right—if the contract broke, the agency would suffer, not her.
"If we get good minerals, I can make something truly amazing."
With her passion ignited, Park Joo-hee clenched her fist, eyes gleaming.
"Hic, hic, heave!"
Park Joo-hee gasped for breath, her face pale as a ghost, head bowed so low her sunglasses nearly fell off.
The Giant Hound that had carried her eyed her sideways with a look that said, 'What's her deal?' as it sat there.
"Good work."
Woof!
Kang Sa-hu read the hound's flustered emotions, stroked its front paw in praise, and it happily rolled over to expose its belly.
He patted it gently, then accommodated the other hounds clamoring for attention with a stroke each before returning them to soul cores and approaching Park Joo-hee.
"Are you okay?"
"Huuugh. Yeah... it's insanely fast. Felt like over 100 km/h."
"Yes, probably."
At his calm reply, Park Joo-hee—whose hair was a mess from clinging bareback to the hound at over 100 km/h—stared at him in disbelief.
But seeing the others casually stretching and waiting for her unfazed, she quickly composed herself.
"Well, it is super fast. I didn't expect to reach Yanggu in Gangwon Province this quick."
Realizing they'd made it from near Seoul to Yanggu in just an hour, she acknowledged the Giant Hound's speed.
The ride was far rougher than a car, but it had shaved off the time lost to winding roads.
"And the Party Leader was going easy the whole time."
Lee Yu-rim muttered, having ridden the hounds multiple times and knowing their top speed.
Fortunately, Park Joo-hee, still dazed, didn't hear. Kim Ho-myeong pressed a finger to his lips, signaling no provocation.
As her wobbling steadied and she fully recovered, Kang Sa-hu led the group toward the gate.
He'd announced the hunt in advance, and respecting his dislike for red tape, no one obstructed them en route.
"Th-this is inside a gate..."
Park Joo-hee gawked around in wonder, eyes wide.
The world had changed the moment they stepped through the door-like gate.
It had been midday outside with the sun high, but inside it was early evening, dusk settling with fading light.
A massive mountain loomed ahead, monsters crawling around it like ants.
"Goblins."
Bae Deok-ho, with sharp eyes, identified the ones scampering up and down the slopes.
"Have you fought goblins before?"
Kang Sa-hu had encountered them while solo-hunting to repair the troll soul core, but he checked in case.
The others, veterans of countless gates, had all faced goblins at least once.
For first-timer Park Joo-hee, even monsters themselves were new; she instinctively reached for her weapon but casually lowered her hand upon scanning the nonchalant group.
"Goblins always show up where there's ore."
Kang Ji-ye remarked curiously as the goblins spotted and began gathering toward them.
"Eek."
Park Joo-hee flinched at her first sight of goblins skittering down the mountain like cockroaches on all fours.
Confirming their approach, Kang Sa-hu summoned five Giant Hounds.
"Eek!"
Park Joo-hee startled, but the hounds calmly encircled her and Kang Ji-ye protectively.
"Oppa, can you summon the King Forest Lizard too?"
At the unexpected request, Kang Sa-hu blinked at her in confusion.
"Why?"
"It's cute. You hardly call it, so it might be bored."
"..."
A frivolous reason, but her concern for its boredom rang true, so Kang Sa-hu summoned the King Forest Lizard.
Kuueeeh.
"King Foli!"
Kang Ji-ye called it affectionately and approached.
She'd felt a bond with it since drawing the magic circle for Kang Sa-hu's domain declaration before fighting the B-rank boss Catakull. She climbed onto its back via its tail.
"Miss me?"
Kuueh.
Watching their exchange, Kang Sa-hu sensed the lizard's discomfort and commanded.
"If what's inside bothers you, spit it out for now."
Kuuh, kuueh!
Thrilled at his permission, the King Forest Lizard regurgitated its stored items.
Besides what Kang Sa-hu had packed separately, troll weapons and armor he'd kept in its body tumbled out.
"Wh-what's this?!"
As Park Joo-hee approached the new gear with interest,
Kang Sa-hu eyed the incoming goblins and glanced at his guildmates in formation.
"Shall we test your skills?"
"Yes, Guild Leader—er, not yet. Party Leader! Got it!"
Kang Sa-hu nodded approvingly at Bae Deok-ho's vigorous, almost oath-like reply and stepped back.
The goblins reached attack range and screeched, hurling crude spears.
Kiyaaak!
Pang!
Spears whistled threateningly through the air.
Kim Ho-myeong, who once would have panicked and barely blocked, casually raised his shield.
Clang!
Kiee!
Before the goblins' startled cries ended,
Thwack!
Bae Deok-ho's arrow pierced a goblin's head in a flash.